Five questions for the Washington Huskies

Stanford football has a huge game against the Washington Huskies this Saturday. First place in the Pac-10 is on the line. In preparation for the big battle I talked with my counterpart, Jon Berkowitz, the Washington Huskies Examiner about the game and asked him five questions about what Stanford fans can expect to see from the Huskies:

1. After last weekend, Jake Locker has moved into the national
spotlight as one of the top quarterbacks in the land. Other than good
health, what is he doing to take his game to the next level?

Honestly it is all about the coaching he has received over the last six months. Under Willingham they discouraged him from seeking outside tutoring despite the fact that there was not a actual QB coach on the staff. Steve Sarkisian and Jeff Nussmeier are two of the best college QB coaches in the country. You get better under that type of tutelage.
Sarkisian also parked Jake with Steve Clarkson who is one the country's top QB guru's. He helped Jake adapt to the pro style offense that Sarkisian wants to run. In previous years it was all about Jake against the defense. Now it is about Jake and all the tools he has around him complimenting him.

2. As Stanford fans can attest, beating USC is a lot of fun. How do
the Huskies and Coach Sark avoid a let down the week after?

Don't read the newspaper and don't turn on the computer. Reading your own press clippings is the worst thing you can do in this type of situation. Washington is coming off an 0-12 season and I feel the players and the coaches are smart enough to realize why they won last weeks game. USC simply turned over the ball too many times. If USC doesn't turn over the ball they win the game by 17 points. I think Washington realizes that they have to play hard on every snap. The coaches realize that they have to out fox each opponent. Washington can beat every single team left on the schedule. They also have the ability to lose every game. Getting back to 0-12...I think that is deeply ingrained in the psyche of the team. They know they need a supreme effort to win each week.

3. The main mission of anybody playing against Stanford is to stop
Toby Gerhart. Who will shoulder the load for that responsibility and
how will they get it done?

Our defensive line shut down some serious big backs in the LSU game. I think the LSU backs are the equal of Toby GeRhart. We held Idaho to under 100 yards rushing. USC ran for 250 yards against us which is unacceptable. The saving grace is after the first quarter they only ran for only 134 yards the rest of the game. In addition to that they were 0-10 in third down conversions. That is a remarkable state, even more remarkable than the four turnovers. Washington has a number of different looks on the defensive line they can throw at an offense. They have a speed lineup and a bulk lineup. You will see both on Saturday. we have one of the best linebacking crews in the Pac 10. Donald Butler who is a senior middle linebacker was the national defensive player of the week.
Overall we have some weapons in the front seven. If Gerhart breaks into the secondary we have some DB's who are very good against the run.
Washington played very physical last Saturday and I expect that to carry through to this week.

4. Stanford's special teams have really stepped up this season and
have been a force both on returns and coverage. How are the Huskies
special team units faring?

I have to give the edge to Stanford at this point because they are scoring TD's with their special teams. We did shut down the nations best return man against LSU so our coverage and strategy this year has worked well. We have an excellent punter who has great touch. He can boom the ball with pin point placement. Our FG kicker Erik Folk was 3-3 with a long of 48 against USC. He has been consistent. We haven't broken any big returns yet. We have speed back there so I am sure it will happen as the season goes on. Overall special teams play is an indication of a team’s quality depth. I think UW and Stanford are about equal in that department. Once again the thing that separates Stanford from Washington on special teams is 21 points scored on returns. That is just huge!

5. Washington has played in three games, all at home with a "good"
loss to LSU and the huge upset of USC. How will a young upstart team
handle their first road experience?

Playing on the road is never easy. There are a lot of adjustments you have to make. This is the first road game under a new staff so I am sure there are some kinks to work out. On the plus side we will be playing in front of an unenthusiastic crowd of 25,000 Tree fans on medical marijuana. Usually close to 10,000 Husky fans show up since we travel well and have a lot of alumni in the Bay Area. Since our fans load up on beer and hard liquor before the game chances are we will make more noise. The last time Washington played Stanford on the road it seemed like it was a home game for UW. In other words I don't think the crowd will be much of a factor. I think it is a great transitional road game to get us ready for Notre Dame the following week.

This game has to be broken into four components.

1. Jake Locker vs the Stanford defense

I don't think Stanford can stop Locker through the air or on the ground.

2. Toby Gerhart vs the Washington offense

If Gerhart gets into the secondary UW could have a long day. If Washington can hold him to around 100 yards

3. Tree special teams vs UW special teams

Stanford has proven they can score with their special teams. What I really like about Harbaugh is that he really emphasizes this part of the game because he knows he hasn't built the depth and diversity he needs to compete toe to toe with every team in the league. He is close and after the next recruiting class arrives you will se a different Stanford team that will blow some doors off. In the meantime he concentrates on winning this part of the game to even up any disadvantage his team has.

4. Andrew Luck is the second best QB in the Pac 10

Andrew Luck frightens me. I saw him play against WSU and was surprised by how mobile he was. To me he looks like a future first round draft choice. I expect Washington to contain Gerhart but can they stop Luck once the game is on his shoulders? Special teams and Andrew Luck are the two wild cards in this game. Harbaugh likes to throw under twenty times per game but Luck has completed 60% of his passes which is amazing for a RS frosh. I think Luck is going to be the X-factor on Saturday.

You can follow Jon and read more about the Huskies at the Washington Huskies Examiner.

You can also read my answers to his FIVE QUESTIONS here.